Undergraduate
Accommodation
Coming to university may be your first experience of living away from home. This is an exciting time, but we know that finding the right place to live is important for you. We endeavour to offer University-allocated accommodation to the majority of our new students and assistance to students who want to find accommodation in the private rented sector, including house-hunting events, online resources and regular drop-in advice sessions. Below is a summary of what we offer and more detailed information can be found on our Student Housing webpages.
University-allocated accommodation
Living in University-allocated accommodation is a great way to meet people when you first arrive and offers the opportunity to live amongst other students from different courses, cultures and backgrounds.
Halls of residence make up the majority of this type of accommodation. We have a wide range of halls based in and around the city centre and at Langstone Student Village, next to the University’s sports fields and overlooking Langstone Harbour. Langstone also benefits from a large restaurant, bar complex and a free bus service for students travelling to the Guildhall Campus.
Two of our halls are situated close to the seafront and one overlooks Southsea Common with views of the Solent. We have rooms available for students with disabilities and we can offer both catered and self-catered halls, most with en suite shower and toilet facilities. Before moving in you will need to secure your hall place by paying an advance rent of approximately £200, which goes towards your first term’s fees. Fees are then paid in advance, either termly or yearly. If you prefer, you can also pay in monthly instalments by direct debit.
Private rented accommodation
Some students will find their own accommodation in Portsmouth. There are two main types of private rented accommodation: private houses and flats, and lodgings.
Private houses and flats
For independence, a house or flat share is the perfect choice. Southsea has plenty of good, reasonably priced accommodation close to the University and this is where the majority of students in private rented accommodation live. We can supply a list of vacancies in properties registered for advertising with us. You should expect to pay between £65-£75 a week, plus a share of household bills, approximately £15 per person per week for this type of accommodation.
Lodgings
These are rooms offered in private houses where the owner lives on the premises. They are often family households and we check all rooms offered to ensure they meet our criteria. Half-board (generally two meals each day are provided) or room- only (cook for yourself) accommodation is available and may suit those on a tight budget as rent is usually inclusive of bills and is normally paid weekly or monthly. You should expect to pay around £80 a week for room-only or £95 for half-board.
Finding accommodation
Our Student Housing Department offers a series of house-hunting events and regular drop-in advice sessions which are very successful in helping you to find housemates and your first home. All students who either choose to find their own accommodation or have not been allocated a place in University accommodation will be sent a full programme of events from the end of June onwards.
Secure-a-Home events
To help new students who do not go into University-allocated accommodation, we run ‘Secure-a-Home Days’ in conjunction with the Students’ Union. You will get to know the University and the city a bit better and will have the chance to find housemates and somewhere to live. These events include presentations about what to look for when choosing a home, overnight accommodation, social events and we even lay on free minibuses to take you around the city.
E-intro to house-hunting
We also offer a secure online resource to help you link up with other new student house-hunters and find private, rented accommodation. This helps to identify your housing options and provides essential house-hunting tips and advice, as well as use of our Student Housing private sector vacancy lists/lodgings lists. This is a great way of meeting like-minded people prior to attending the University or coming to the house-hunting events.
Here to help
The Student Housing team is here to help before you join us and throughout your time at University in Portsmouth. You are welcome to contact us with any queries.
T: 023 9284 3214
E: student.housing@port.ac.uk